Snow scoop



March 2, 1954 c. slEBRlNG 2,670,862

SNOW SCOOP Filed Feb. '7, 1952 Patented Mar. 2, 1954 fr iii i' SNOW SCOOP Claude Siebring, George,c Iowa Application February'i, 1952 Serial No. 270,330

This invention is concerned generally with snow loading apparatus or the like, and particularly with a` scoop or shovel adapted to be attached to a manure loader for handling snow and the like.

Snow has become a serious problem to farmers since the mechanization of farms due to heavy snow and drifts closing roads, driveways, paths and the. like, to make. them impassable by vehicles, although they could be traversed by animais'. Manual removal of snow is slow and tedious. The purchase of commercial snow handling apparatus would be commercially impractical in most cases, due to the large part of the year in` which the apparatus might be out 1;-

of service.

Many farmers have manurev loaders or other lifting apparatus having forks as the liftingv implements. These forks are not suitable for lift ing snow and other loose material. This. invention solves the problem.Y of snow. removal. for

farmers by the provision of. a scoop adapted forv cooperative attachment to a manure loader without removal of any partsv of the manure. loader.

AnV object of this' invention is to provide a scoop for lifting snow and the like and attachable toa manureV loader.

Another object of this inventionv is to provide a scoop quickly and easily clamping onto thev lifting. fork of a manure loader.

A further object of this invention is to provide a. scoop having an open .portion completed bythe' bucket of a manure loader fork.

Yet another object. of this invention is to pro vide a scoop and manure loader fork and bucket combining to form a mechanismfor lifting snow and other loose material.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view4 of a tractor and manure loader with my scoop attached to the manure loader;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the scoop as attached tothe manure loaderfork'a'nd bucket;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View on a slightly smaller scale of the scoop alone;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the scoop and bucket from the rear thereof showing the latching mechanism for dumping; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view substantially along the line 5 5 of Fig. 4 and showing the latching mechanism.

5 Claims. (Cl. 214-145) Referring nowV to thev figures in greater detail, there is shownl a tractor l0- of any known or conventional construction: having rear drive wheels l2, front or steering wheels I4",- adopera-S toi-s seat i6 and'. a'l hand steeringiwheel I8;- The: frame-20 of the tractor supports-hydraulicliftingf mechanism 22 including a` pair of booms2`4-L 'Illi'e'fL booms 24 are locatedy on opposite sidesl of' the tractor and each is pivotally4 attached to the*- frame 20 and 26. A triangular lifting fratrie: 2E

is attachedA to each of the bdon'isnear the endsi thereofl and a cross' brace` 301 extendsl between the apices of the triangularframes.. Ai spacer 32 also is secured between the booms near tl'ie forward end thereof?.

A hydraulic cylinder 34V is pivotally mounted at 36 on a bracket 3S on each side ofthe tractorl frame. IThe piston rods 4B extend from the-hydraulic cylinders 34 to the apices of the'triangular lifting frames 28. Hydrauliciluid isvsup'pl'iedl to the cylinders 34through ilexible lines42.. The controls for the hydraulic mechanismk are. not.' pertinent, but will be understood to be of c'on-f` ventional construction and within easy' reaclr of the operator o'r driver of the tractor?.

A manure bucket 44 is pivotally mounted'` at the free ends of the booms. 2'4. The. manure bucket is of scoop-like con-figuration? .having-1a curved rear and bottom wail 46. The. bucket further includes sidewalls 48 pivotallylattached? to the booms at.50`. A manure-forkBZl comprising" a plurality of tines- 54 having pointed tips.' eietends forwardly of the bucket 44. A bracel 513- extends across the bucket 44 substantially from; the upper edge to the' lower front edge thereoif" and midway between the sidewalls 48" to brace' the forward. edge ofthebucket sortha't it willnot be bent by the load on the' forwardlyy extending: tines 54. It will' be understood that'. the brace 56 and tines 54 are secured to. the buclnn 441' in;v any suitable manner suchy as by welding'.

The manure loader consisting of a. bucket 44 and fork 52- is heldin a substantially'horizontal'l position for ylifting as shown in the full line posif tionof Fig. 1 and is provided withf suitable-laten mechanism 58 (Figs. 2, 4 and`5` l for?. releasing the bucket and fork'to drop to'thefpcsitionashown: in.v dotted lines `in Fig 1' for duniping` tleload. The: latch mechanism 58 may be of any suitable construction and has been illustrated simply as a bar 60 pivotally secured on a shaft 62 extending between the booms 24 and immediately adjacent the rear of the bucket 44. The bar 60 is Aprovided near its upper end with a transversely extending latch 64 tting above a flange or keeper 86 extending rearwardly from the bucket 44 near the top thereof. A pull rod 68 is pivotally attached to the bar 60 near the top thereof. A load on the bucket 44 and fork 52 tends to tip this loading structure forwardly so that the flange or keeper 66 engages beneath the latch member 64 to maintain the bucket in upright position. A tug rearwardly on the actuating rod 68 pulls the latch member 64 away from the keeper 66 and the bucket and fork then are free to pivotto the dumping position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

It will be apparent that the fork 52 is quite incapable of lifting snow and other loose material and that the bucket 44 in itself has too low a capacity to be of any practical use in loading snow or the like. Furthermore the tines 54 prevent the bucket 44 from closely approaching any obstruction against which snow might be drifted.

n vTo enable the loading apparatus heretofore set forth to load snow, I have provided a scoop 1li.Y The scoop 10 includes a rear wall 12 smoothly curving at 14 into a bottom wall or floor 16, Side plates 18 having straight upper edges are secured to the rear wall 12, curved portion 14, and floor 16 in any suitable manner such as welding, or may be formed integral therewith. The rear wall 12, curved portion 14, and floor 16 are cut away at 99 snugly to accommodate the manure loading bucket 44 with the tines 54 of the `fork 52 lying on top of the floor 16, it being understood that the bucket 44 and scoop 1 0 are curved in exactly the same manner.

The curved portion 14 further is cut away or recessed at 82 to provide clearance for thc ends ofthe booms 24.

Ariv angle member 84 extends across the back 12pt the scoop 'i9 at the upper edge thereof and is secured by any suitable means such as rivets or bolts 86 or welding. Tabs 81 are bolted to the angle member 84 by bolts 88 and extend into the cut-out 80. The floor "i6 of the scoop 10 is provided with apertures 99 for accommodating bolts 99 mounting a strap or bar 92.

vTo secure the scoop 10 to the manure loader comprising the bucket 44 and fork 52, it is necessary only to lower the manure loader to ground level and to drive the tractor forward to position the bucket in the cut-out 80 of the scoop with the fork tines 54 overlying the iioor 'l of the scoop. The tabs 89 are bolted against the front face of the rear wall of the manure bucket 44 to secure the bucket against the angle member 84. The strap 92 is clamped down against the tops of the fork tines 54 by tightening of the bolts 90 further to secure the scoop 10 to the manure loading structure. It will be understood that the bolt holes 89 are threaded or that nuts are secured to the bolts 99 below the floor 16.

Withthe scoop 19 in cooperative engagement with the manure bucket 44 and fork 52, combined lifting structure is capable of lifting large quantities of snow or other loose material which cannot be handled by the usual manure bucket and'fork. Thus it will be seen that the farmer is enabled to load snow and other loose material with only the slight expenditure of the cost of the scoop 10 alone without the necessity of also purchasing some specific lifting apparatus.

The specific example of my invention shown and described herein is for illustrative purposes only. My invention is not to be limited to this illustrative example, but is to include all such modications as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A scoop for loading snow and the like and attachable to a manure loader or the like having arear bucket portion and a fork structure including a plurality of tines extending substantially forwardly of said bucket portion, said scoop comprising side walls, a rear wall and a iioor having a transversely continuous floor surface extending between said side walls for a substantial distance rearwardly of the front margin of the floor, said rear wall and rear portion of said floor being apertured substantially complementary to the shape of the bucket portion of the loader for receiving the said bucket portion to substantially close the scoop aperture with the free end portions of the tines oi the loader projecting forwardly of the scoop aperture in overlying Contact with the adjacent part of said floor surface; and means for clamping the scoop to the loader in rigid association therewith and including securing means between said bucket portion and the rear of the scoop, and fastener means between the front marginV of said iioor and the rear aperture therein and cooperating with associated projecting end portions of the tines for securing the same in contact with the floor surface to reinforce the same in use.

2. A scoop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastener means includes barvmeans and fastener elements securing the bar means to adjacent tine surfaces.

3. A scoop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastener means includes a transverse bar engaging the tops of the tines for securing the same in contact with the iioor surface.

4. A scoop as claimed in claim 1, wherein a brace member extends across the rear wall of the scoop substantially at the top thereof and across the aperture therethrough and wherein the bucket portion is secured to said brace member.

5. A scoop as claimed in claim 4, wherein a bar-like member overlies the projecting end portions of the tines and is secured to the iioor surface for clamping the tines in contact therewith.

CLAUDE SIEBRING.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name DateV 947,964 Collins et al. Feb. 1, 1910 2,417,560 McNamara, Jr. Mar. 18, 1947 2,429,717 Gordon Oct. 28, 1947 2,466,878 Davis et ai Apr. 12, 1949 2,496,563 Sierns Feb. 7, 1950 2,577,977 Nelson Dec. 1l, 1951 2,612,280 Stueland Sept. 30, 1952 2,627,989 Chaves Feb. 10,1953 

